The renminbi last Wednesday reached a post-revaluation high against the US dollar, closing at 7.9587 and breaking the record set a day earlier.

The reference rate of the renminbi, or yuan, was fixed at 7.9598 against the greenback last Wednesday. The rate is set by the central bank each day as the central parity for foreign exchange trade.

The closing price was also the lowest since China allowed the renminbi to appreciate by 2 per cent against the US dollar to 8.11 last July, and linked the currency to a basket of currencies instead of the greenback alone. On May 15, the reference rate fell below 8 to 7.9982 for the first time in 12 years.

Bigger voice in IMF

China and three other developing countries are expected to get a bigger say in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with an increase to their quotas.

China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico could win greater IMF shareholdings in a few days, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.

He says the agreement to launch a fundamental review of control and governance of the IMF was within sight, signalling the fund's most far-reaching reform since its foundation at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference. The decision on the four countries' quotas will be made at the IMF's annual meeting this month in Singapore.

1

2

3

4

5

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)